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Military Order of the Loyal Legion 
of the United States 

Commandery of the District of Columbia 



AN ADDRESS 

Delivered at the Stated Meeting of 
May 1, 1918 



By 

THE COMINIANDER 

Lieutenant-General NELSON A. MILES 

United States Army 

On his election as Commander of the Commandery 

May 1, 1918 



1)5' 



AN ADDRESS 

Delivered at the Stated Meeting 

of 

MAY 1, 1918 



By 

THE COMMANDER 

Lieutenant-General NELSON A. MILES 

I' 

United States Army 

On his election as Commander of the Commandery 

May 1, 1918 



WASHINGTON, D. C. 
1918 



.S7 



Publish- 
D£c 23 ma 



Companions of the Loyal Legion, Distinguished Guests and 
Friends : Mindful of the marked consideration you accord in 
conferring upon me your highest title, I assure you that it is 
fully appreciated. It is an added honor to assume the respon- 
sibilities of the office following so distinguished a patriot as 
Judge Stanton J. Peelle, who has during the past year presided 
with the same grace and marked ability with which he has here- 
tofore adorned many important positions. 

I have long been associated with this honorable body of pa- 
triots, being one of the early members of the Massachusetts 
Commandery, a charter member of the Oregon and Kansas 
Commanderies, commander of the California Commandery and 
later senior vice-commander of the national organization. 
You may know that I hold in sacred regard the principles 
upon which the order was founded, the sublime patriotism 
that inspired its members, and the glorious achievements you 
and your companions wrought a half century ago for the people 
of our beloved country and those of other lands. Upon the 
success or failure of your heroic services and sacrifice de- 
pended the weal or woe of the human race. In my opinion 
there is not to be found in the wide world an organization in- 
spired by higher motives or possessed of, more exalted and 
purer principles than the Loyal Legion. 

Universal freedom, liberal government and the sovereigntv 
of man have been of slow growth, and have required centuries 
of time to become established. The system of government you 
and your companions, by valor and fortitude, preserved and 
maintained, embraced those priceless jewels of human happi- 
ness — "civil and religious liberty." During the past century 
and a half our Republic has passed through many perilous 
times. The black clouds of war have at times threatened our 
national existence, yet with a consciousness of right and jus- 
tice to defend them, our people have maintained their liberty 
and their system of government. 

1 



During the world's liistory, the human race lias been chiefly 
governed by superstition and despotism. Two hundred years 
ago the great majority of the human family were either vas- 
sals, serfs, peons, or abject subjects of some despotic power. 

Whenever humanity reached a higher order of intelligence, 
a love of liberty was manifested, progress and enlightenment 
were developed and a higher degree of civil government cre- 
ated, only in time to be destroyed by ignorance and brute force. 

The refined civilization of Persia, Egypt, Greece and an- 
cient Rome, all perished beneath the ruthless ambition for 
conquest and spoilation. 

The earnest protest of such philosophers and patriots as 
Plato and Aristotle were fruitless against the remorseless" 
hordes controlled by usurpers and despots. The theory of "the 
divine right of kings" is offensive to the highest order of 
human intelligence. The superstition that some hundreds or 
thousands of years ago an all-wise and benevolent Providence 
selected any particular family to govern a large portion or the 
whole of the human race has been many times repudiated. 

In the course of centuries a higher order of civilization has 
been adopted and gradually the light of universal freedom and 
justice has appeared through the dark shadows of oppression 
and despotism. It appeared at different times and places in 
European countries. Its advocates met only prejudice and 
cruel persecution. 

Yet the principles of justice and independence of thought 
and action, once implanted in the hearts and minds of intelli- 
gent people, were cherished and maintained with a courage 
and fidelity that could not be destroyed. 

Our ancestors fled from the cruelty and despotism of the 
old world. They abandoned all the endearments of home and 
sought to find a land in the wilderness of America, where they 
could enjoy "civil and religious liberty." They felled the 

2 



forest, they cleared the fields, they established their colonies 
and created communities controlled and governed by the will 
of the people. The justice and spirit of the Magna Charta has 
prevailed for over seven hundred years. Under the principles 
enunciated in that compact framed nearly three hundred years 
ago in the cabin of the Mayflower — in the Articles of Associa- 
tion, 1774 — in the Macklenburg Declaration of Independence, 
1775 — in the Declaration of Independence proclaimed at Phila- 
delphia in 1776 — in the Articles of Federation, 1777, and 
finally, 1787, in that grandest document ever framed by human 
wisdom, the American Constitution — under these principles 
our wonderful civilization has developed, unequalled in human 
history. The influence of our mighty republic has not only 
blessed hundreds of millions, that have gone before, but is 
giving our people of today greater independence, comfort and 
happiness than any people have heretofore enjoyed. It has 
extended its beneficient influence to the greater portion of the 
human race now living under constitutions copied after our 
own. And for these blessings hundreds of thousands of 
Americans are battling today upon the red fields of war. 

Unfortunately, at this hour when civilization has reached its 
highest degree of excellence, selfish ambition — lust for unjusti- 
fiable conquest — has brought the welfare of the race to its 
severest crisis. It has deluged a continent with heroic blood, 
it has devastated vast territories with desolation, and produced 
untold suffering and sacrifice. 

In the most unjustifiable, appalling and colossal of all wars, 
it seeks to restore a despotism that has cursed the world for 
thousands of years. A small minority is now attempting su- 
preme control, not by right and justice, reason and humanity, 
but by the force of arms. 

Science, ingenuity, and the wealth of nations is to be used 
not for the welfare of the race but for destruction. We cannot 
believe that we have witnessed the zenith of our glory, and that 

3 



henceforth the penduhim of the world's fate must swing hack 
to barharic depotism ! 

To that mighty, yet Hberal, Empire of Great Britain, to the 
courtly and heroic people of France, to the dauntless and 
chivalrous people of Italy, as well as to the long suffering peo- 
ples of the smaller countries, we owe eternal loyalty. To the 
strong liberty-loving people of Russia we owe an unpaid debt 
of gratitude. They have suffered the greatest deprivations. 
They have longest endured the depressing and oppressive effect 
of imperial power. They have placed more men in the theater 
of war and have suffered a greater number of casualties than 
any other nation. They have been deceived and betrayed, yet 
I have confidence in their patriotism and fortitude. They are 
passing through the same experiences of turmoil, communism 
and chaos that other republics have experienced. 

I have been twice in that country and across the vast ter- 
ritory of Siberia and I believe, that with encouragement and 
support its mighty power and resources will yet be united in 
the cause of right and justice. 

In this serious crisis the words of the Immortal Lincoln 
are as applicable today as they were the day they were uttered : 
"With malice towards none, with charity for all, with firmness 
.in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to 
finish the work we are in — and to (l(j all which may achieve and 
cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all 
nations." As all human events must come to an end, I trust 
that a just and lasting peace may come and come speedily, and 
that that peace may be as enduring and glorious as this world- 
wide war has been deplorable. A most impressive illustration 
occurred some years ago when two ])dwerful nations were on 
the verge of war. They wisely decided upon arbitration, and 
mutual blessings were secured. One of the grandest monu- 
ments that adorns the earth was erected to commemorate that 
important event, and is now standing on the crest of the 

4 



Andes, 14,000 feet above sea level, dedicated to eternal peace 
between the two nations. It is known as "The Christ of the 
Andes." 

One of the greatest evils of governments is that the great 
powers are supremely independent, under no control or re- 
istraint, governed by their own interests and designs, capable 
of making war and involving nations and peoples in untold 
deprivation and suffering. When this black cloud of war shall 
roll away, when the war drums throb no longer, when the 
battle flags are furled, and the black-mouthed cannon silent, I 
hope forever, and a mound of earth has covered the last of the 
millions of heroic dead, I trust there may be patriotism and 
wisdom enough left in the world to make this the finale, the 
closing tragedy in the horrible drama of war, and instead of 
the devastation of countries and the bankruptcy of nations 
there shall be created a Parliament of Man, a Federation of 
the World. 

Thanks to the intelligence and genius of the age, the nations 
of the world are today in closer communication and inter- 
course than the colonies were after our fathers, by seven long 
years of valor and sacrifice, gained their independence. Every 
interest of humanity for the present and future demands that 
there shall be called a Congress of Nations, a Federation 
formed, and an impartial high court of justice created, with 
ample power accorded to adjudicate international contro- 
versies. That, and that only, would be an achievement which 
would atone for and be commensurate with the terrible suft'er- 
ing the world is now enduring. When that day shall dawn, 
the entire world will celebrate the greatest blessing in human 
progress, enlightenment, and happiness, humanity will have 
assembled to a higher sphere, a more exalted and purer 
destiny. 



H 29 89 










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